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🏈 A Final Goodbye.

🏈 A Final Goodbye.

February 01, 2023

Good morning BTP family! Wild news dropped this morning as 7x Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced his retirement from the game of football. He will no doubt go down as the greatest QB and competitor of this generation if not ever. This announcement also comes exactly one year after he announced his retirement last offseason. In other news LeBron James is just 89 points away from passing Kareem for the all-time scoring record. After a 28-point victory last night, it looks like LeBron will pass the record in one of these next few games!

On today's BTP we break down how Brock Purdy's magical run was halted by injury and what it means for the 49ers, LeBron's freak-out in Boston after referee admits he missed the call, and Sean Payton's new home with the Denver Broncos!

Happy Humpday!

END OF THE ROAD

Brock Purdy Needs Surgery, 49ers Future in Question

Brock Purdy’s incredible run ended coldly and abruptly after suffering an elbow injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. It’s been reported that Purdy completely tore his ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm and will need surgery. Here’s what this means for Purdy and his role as the 49ers starting quarterback.

What happened? Early into the game, Purdy was hit in the elbow by an Eagles pass rusher, leaving him unable to throw. That should have ended Purdy’s day, but he was forced to return in the third quarter after the Niners' fourth-string quarterback, Josh Johnson, went down with a concussion. With the game basically over, Purdy mostly handed the ball off and didn’t attempt any downfield passes.

The surgery: Doctors are hoping to be able to repair his UCL rather than reconstruct it completely via Tommy John surgery, a procedure most often associated with baseball pitchers. Assuming he can avoid the Tommy John procedure Purdy has a chance to be healthy by the start of training camp.

What’s next? The 49ers have quite a decision on their hands. The most likely scenario is that they give Trey Lance the job and employ Purdy as one of the game’s premier backups. Another option is to have an open quarterback competition and let those two promising youngsters battle it out. Even though Purdy did everything asked of him over the last eight starts, winning every game that he wasn’t injured in, the NFL is a business, and nothing is guaranteed. Whether he starts for the 49ers next year or another team, he’s already rewritten the history books for what’s possible for a Mr. Irrelevant.

ADMITTED MISTAKES

The No-Call Heard 'Round the World

It wouldn’t be a Lakers-Celtics game without some drama, and this past Saturday’s game was no exception. In the final seconds of a tie game, Jayson Tatum fouled LeBron James, but the refs missed the call, forcing overtime, where the Celtics ultimately won. As you can imagine, James was having absolutely none of it.

After the no-call, James put on a performance for the ages that should have made him eligible for an Oscar, before proceeding to vent his frustrations over social media. James tweeted about it Saturday night and then tagged Tatum on IG stories the next day, sarcastically complimenting him on the block.

That final play was so fervently discussed online that it did the impossible, it got an apology from the refs. On Sunday afternoon, the official NBA Referees Twitter account said the following: “It's true the officials missed this call -- crew chief Eric Lewis admitted as much after the game -- and it's true the Lakers probably would have won had James been awarded free throws as time expired in regulation.”

Even though it was just one of eighty-two games, the Lakers need every win they can get, given their horrific start to the season. Now, whether or not you believe James was being overly dramatic is up to interpretation, but at least we know that as far as the call was concerned, he was right.

FRESH START

The Denver Broncos Go All-In on Sean Payton

The Broncos got their guy. After firing three head coaches since 2019, the Denver Broncos were looking for a sure thing at head coach, and Sean Payton is as safe a bet as you can make. After the trade is completed Payton is expected to become one of the highest-paid coaches in the league.

The trade cost: Since Sean Payton was under contract with the Saints through 2024 before he retired, the Broncos needed to compensate New Orleans in order to hire him. The Broncos traded a 2023 first-round pick (no. 29) and a 2024 second-round pick for the right to hire Payton and a future Saints’ third-round pick.

While trading for a coach isn’t exactly common, there is plenty of precedent for such moves. Some notable coaching names to be traded in the last 25 years include Herm Edwards, Jon Gruden, and Bill Belichick. Gruden’s 2002 hiring was among the most expensive coaching trades ever executed, as it included two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and $8M. By that math, this Payton trade was a steal.

What’s next? The Broncos were the lowest-scoring offense in the NFL last season, as their $245M quarterback, Russell Wilson, finished the year with a career-low 16 TD passes and was sacked a career-high 55 times. Meanwhile, Payton’s Saints teams, with Drew Brees under center, were consistently among the best offenses in the league and made the playoffs nine times. Payton has his work cut out for him, but if anyone can fix this mess on offense, it’s him.